Kickstand caused collar bone injury, and my recovery

[Redman]

Story of the accident (June 22nd at Brown County rally) and the broken collar bone injury has been discussed in the Brown County thread.

Will quote most of it here, for reference

after leaving the brick kilns. went north, then started wandering. just choosing roads in a general direction of east mostly and some north.

i stopped in road to observe a group of vultures taking turn at ripping up some poor creature in the road. was also just sitting there looking at varoius things that are different and unique to the area. the way the road just follows the lay of the land, goes arouind a rize with trees. sat there on the road with engine off for some time. then took off.

got up to 3rd or 4th gear, and strange stuff started happ[ening, I though I blew a rear tire, something was pushing me to side of road, I was trying to slowdown without using much braking and trying to regain control, all sorts of stuff happening othert than what I was trying to do, then I recognized the sound was that of the sidestand scrapping the pavemnet, but about then was when I was going off the edge of the pavement. I felt the wheel(s?) sink in the soft shoulder and started i was to think about trying to look at hazards ahead on shoulder of road and try to ride it out, but then was some violent pitch of the bike (I cant say which way) and then the pavement is comming up at my face real quick (like lot faster than just falling over), feel shoulder hit and a big uh-whhhuufff all over.


Here is the last of the sidestand scratch goinf off the pavementy and the furrough the bike made (wheel?, wheels? frame?) on the shoulder of the road and where bike ended up. Yep, back on pavement, pointed back whence we came. I cant describe how that happend, I can barley make a couple partial thereorys.... (speaking of poor creature laying in road)


I noticed the down handle bar was back, and I knew it was in gear, and was on level pavement, so I knew would not be difficlut to right the bike.
here is a closer look (after I got bike righted) at the furrough on shoulder of road, and scratch the highway peg and the rear crash bar made

here is closer look at bike and scratch the rear crash bar made. Is only a slight scratch on very underside of stator cover

Here is where I walked further back to see most of the sidestand scratch
It actaully starts further back closer to the crown of the road

more later

....
i recall,
- last couple step up to the bike, looking at water and mud on pavement under bike, bend over, turn off ignition
- step back, look at scratches on pavemet from side of road up to the bike, turn, look at the excavation on the side of the road, and the scratch going off the road
- thought that my shoulder and left side is sore, but hands and arm worked, just that did not want to lift left arm much
- thought were is my camera?
- took some pics
- looked at bike more. front end looked generally good. noticed the the down handle bar (left) was back, and knew trasmission was in gear, and on level pavement, so knew would not be difficult to pick up. looked some more, tires on wheels okay. backed up to bike, grabbed bar with right arm, lifted and pushed with butt till about upright.
- walked around some more, took a couple more pics further back showing kickstand scratch going off the road
- went back to bike. looked things over. front end and bars seemed straight, side bagss, trunk and fairing seemed intact and well afixed, still had shift and brake lever, engine cases intact. looked to see if the puddle at bike was not gas.
(in telling this, i must admitt my memory is spotty, i am recounting mostly what i do remember, without explaining what i dont remebmer: like getting up, like walking away from bike after righting it.....,)
- looked around no real damage to anything. my shoulder was sore, but things working, just that didnt want to raise my arm too much (or so i tghought)
- looked at gps, selected the motel. 12 miles. i knew road to west (where had been headed) was a bit curvey and tuirned nmore southerly, and road back east (were bike pointed) was striagt then could go north and get to 50 and then fairly straight direct back to motel.
- got on bike. it started. rode away slowley. bike seemed okay.
- about half way back i started to get the idea maybe this wasnt a good idea. then my nose itched and i went to rub it with my left hand, just lifted hand off bar a little bit - no! oh! owwww owwww.
- made it back to the motel. then was getting more of the idea this wasnt a good plan.......

i dont think i had any incredible hulk .... that would involve turning green, right? folks told me i was more white than usuall.

So folks understand: Dan Salty Monk was the first to approach me when I got to the motel.

I pulled in motel parking lot and stopped by the room.
Didnt get off the bike, thought maybe should have some help nearby before I tried that.
I saw Norm and Steve and some others on far side of parking lot, and I thought I was hollering thier names as loud as I could, but it seemed that no one could hear me, no one noticed I was there. THat was a puzzle to me, for a short period I started to consider various possibilities of what was going on. (hey, cool! can ride motorcycles in afterlife!!)
Saw Dan come out of room, he was looking my way, so I motioned for him to come to me. And he did. I got off bike, said something (dont recall what), and Dan walked me over to nurse Bonita.

Thanks for letting me chat, well, okay, ..... letting me yammer on.
Is helpful for me "processing" it all.
All in all, is not that serious of an injury, compared to what almost-coulda-been.
THe what-coulda-been is still being "processed".

One conclusion is: The boots did their job, the pants did their job, the armor jacket did its job, AND the helmet did its job.
ANd I had a momentary lapse in my job. Well, maybe a couple.

Today marks 5 weeks.
Can report the the first couple weeks I was quite inactive. Just standing up and sitting down took some deliberate moves. And laying down and getting up took multiple awkward painful maneuvers. And wasnt getting much sleep, other than short naps.

Last couple weeks have been better. Have been sleeping. And can move around better.

I had thought I would be experiencing anguish at not riding. Surprisingly that hasn't happened. That is an entire story in itself, an unfinished story, I suspect. *

Last few days have had some new milestones in my recovery:
- can move arm-shoulder some without pain (if do too much - it lets me know)
- have tied boot laces for first time
- have slept all night.
and... and.... and most important
- have ordered new jacket and helmet

Have another orthopedic appointment this coming week, for xray, and I suspect, setup start of physical therapy.
If I recall properly, I think they were predicting 4 weeks (August) of lite therapy , and still needing the sling, and then can dispense with the sling and will then have 4 more weeks (September) of more involved therapy.

With two RNs and a Doctor of Physical Therapy in the family, I pretty much know I am not getting away with skirting much of the restrictions.

* but we will see, first time I can hold my arm straight out in front of me.

I thinhk sidestand was scraping, and limiting my lean and disrupting my control, I did not realise it was the sidestand, I was thinking was a blown tire, which was stupid becasue I know a blown rear tire causes the bike to go all over and I was just going to the right. I was trying to slow down and regain control without braking much. I recognized the sound and situation as being the sidestand just about the time I was going off the road.
Maybe the wheel(s) dropping off the pavemnent really made the sidestand dig in. Maybe that is what pitched the bike so hard (I cant say which way). I just felt something push my butt around and pavement comming up at my face real quick.

But to discuss the recuperation and therapy....

 

[Redman]

At my orthopedic appointment on the 6th week, the doctor said I could start to wean off the sling.
And should start with a couple exercises a couple times a day.
One exercize is to walk fingers up the wall, itsey bitsy spider style, untill the muscles get tight, then go slow and maybe go just a little bit higher, hold it fora bit, then back down. And then do it again, and repeat later in the day.

THat seems like a good exercise, each day can do that and expereince less discomfort and maybe go little higher.


I developed a variant of that exercise, which is more specific purpose.
Walk the itsey bitsey spider along the tank and out onto the handle bars.

And then later in the day, repeat on the other bike

 

[2BRacing]

Very glad to see you are making good progress to full recovery Dave.

I think the second type of exercise (...

Walk the itsey bitsey spider along the tank and out onto the handle bars) is going to make the biggest difference towards speedy recovery, so hang in there!

Best wishes!
​

 

[Redman]

. . . . . .

Thanks Ben.

 

[Redman]

I mentioned that I have two RNs and a doctor of physical therapy in the family. All three have seen my alternative exercise.

One said the up-the-wall exercise will provide better range of motion. And gave me some evaluation and some advise on adjusting the sling. ANd gave me some advise on the posture of my shoulder when not wearing the sling. And stated that getting on and off the bike could be the most hazardous portion and that I will get about same benefit from doing the exercize standing next to the bike.

Another said I should work up to adding a few repetitions of clutch operations to my alternative exercize.

And the third hollered at me to get away from the bike. And told me repeatedly that is too soon for that, I could re-injure myself too easy.

You can probably guess which is my wife (RN, home care).

ANd which is daughter (DPT, triathlete).
And which is son-in-law (Emergency RN, weight lifter)

 

[duaneage]

Sorry to hear you crashed. I've driven off with the stand down but it's not thrown me. I've had a few close calls so I fanatically look down before taking off.

Hope you recover fully

 

[bwringer]

It's sort of a tough call.

Personally, I think it's also rather dangerous to give complete control over the engine to a badly designed rudimentary switch exposed to the very worst of the elements. These switches have failed early and inconveniently and have been bypassed on both my "modern" bikes. Yeah, you can't really describe a KLR650 as "modern", even if it is a 2005. But it did come with a stupidly overcomplicated but still low-rent kickstand switch setup.

I think the solution you see on older Hondas makes the most sense -- there's a thick curved rubber "finger" attached to the kickstand. In normal usage it just bends out of the way, but if you toodle off without raising the kickstand, the rubber finger drags the ground long before the kickstand touches and flips it up for you. Low-tech, elegant, cheap, reliable, completely foolproof, and much safer than other solutions.

On a GS, there's been some discussion of using the kickstand light circuit to trigger a loud buzzer and/or flasher; the virtually invisible red light isn't much help. You could also wire this up with a relay to cut out the ignition, but then you're back to the original problem of reliance on a crappy switch.

Or, it shouldn't be too hard to come up with a version of Honda's rubber finger solution. A slice out of a tire and a couple of hose clamps should get you there.

 

[TxGSrider]

I have been following this and I sure hope you heal up real soon. I've ridden off with the stand down too but, thankfully was never hurt.

As for a safety switch on the kickstand, mine has a light that I pretty much seemed to overlook. My opinion is that mine seems to have about 50 various "warning indicators" (ok, well I may be exaggerating the number) but the point is that the important ones lose some of attention with so many others lit up.
I need "High Beam", "Turn Signal", and "Side Stand" and that's about it. In fact, I removed the bulbs for the other indicators as they were just distracting me.

 

[Gorminrider]

Redman, I've had very similar happen. Once and only (I hope)...when I realized it was down, I went twards the unpaved shoulder to get clear of traffic. That was ok except while slowing there the stand just skimmed the pavement edge while the bike was on the slightly lower-level shoulder and that's when the bike made a nasty jump. No droppage... just a scare. I'd have been much smarter to NOT goto the shoulder.

I think the solution you see on older Hondas makes the most sense -- there's a thick curved rubber "finger" attached to the kickstand. In normal usage it just bends out of the way, but if you toodle off without raising the kickstand, the rubber finger drags the ground long before the kickstand touches and flips it up for you. Low-tech, elegant, cheap, reliable, completely foolproof, and much safer than other solutions.

yes, I have and had these on Hondas-I've yet to test 'em the hard way but simple is good...

A few thoughts though- both my Hondas had stands that held the bike nearly upright while the GSx400s bikes lean further on the stand...I don't think I could ever get up to speed riding the Hondas (or the 650G) without the stand touching but just like Redman, on the Suzuki 400, I was able to ride quite awhile before noticing! ...So, all to say...on bikes like these, the rubber or device would need to quite long and quite stiff....it might then help to look at the kickstand spring as a modification too...?

I also made a kickstand light...a very bright flashing Red LED. It's not something that can be ignored.... it blinks it's red and it's bright. For anyone that might want to try this, " super bright flashing LEDS than run at 12volts are available on Ebay..There's no circuitry to add-it's all in a not-large led that looks like any other.
Then, just take the ground(- connection) to an insulated spring on the kickstnd. The circuit "completes" when the kickstand is down and the spring touches the frame....
Yes, it has to be kept clean and yes, maybe it'll fail sometime until you fix it, but mostly ,it'll work, so it's still a help 99% of the time .

 

[Wingsconsin]

​Get better - there is still some riding season left this year

 

[Redman]

​Get better - there is still some riding season left this year

Yep, am in the 6th week.
during the 5th week with the exercises (doctor prescribed, and , a-hem, other exercises) I have regained full range of motion. (But not much strength)

you might think 6 weeks is what is required for bone healing. Well, that would be a clean break that was put back together. Mine has jagged ends missaligned and overlapping some (but they say within parameters for not needing surgery) so needs more like 8 weeks for more rebuilding bone to arch the across before do much physical therapy.

am weaning off the sling. Expect to start PT next week.

biggest milestones of recovery in last few days:
- tucked in shirt for first time
- used both hands putting on socks
- been tying boot laces most every day
- can reach overhead
- went most of day without sling
and, and, and, the most encouraging:
- received new jacket and helmet.

i am looking toward 2nd week sept, maybe 1st week.
fall is my favorite time to ride.

 

[GSXR7ED]

Wow, Redman...glad you are doing well.

Yeah, a kill switch for the kickstand would be ideal on these bikes. I've forgotten to kick it up but I had done it very early in the ride and before I started on the Twisties.

Heal up and take your time getting back to riding.

Ed

 

[Redman]

For my recovery:

- I am getting good advise from my daughter, (Doctor Of Physical Therapy, triathlete) relative to exercises to improve range of motion.

- I am getting good advise from son-in-law (Emergency RN, weightlifter) relative to exercises to improve strength without overdoing and causing a setback.

- And wife (RN, home health care) is good a hollering at me "No, No, You should not do that, are gonna re-injurer yourself".

Have added to my exercise routine,

several reps of clutch activation.

 

[Spyder]

We REALLY need a like button here...

 

[Baatfam]

We REALLY need a like button here...

Agreed.........................

 

[cowboyup3371]

Good to hear Dave

 

[Redman]

Good to hear Dave

THanks. And has been a couple weeks since you updated your post about your recovery.

 

[Redman]

. . . . . ...

. . . . . . . ..

You do know, dont you? That when I say something that seems silly or stupid, I am trying to be funny. Well, most of the time.

 

[Baatfam]

You do know, dont you? That when I say something that seems silly or stupid, I am trying to be funny. Well, most of the time.

We need a "funny" button, also....

 

[Eli69]

I went down because of stupidly leaving the kick stand down on my 850 a few years ago. heading home after a bike and hike I was feeling spiffy and twisted it up a little. was going about 85 and started to lean into a long left curve. when the stand first hit It took me two kicks to get it back up. By then I was on the edge of the shoulder and then on the grass. I low sided into a wide grassy area luckily. I remember thinking that it felt like falling into a pillow bed because my gear saved me from what would've definitely been a bit of road rash. Broke a mirror and a signal light. picked the bike up and rode home. felt very dumb.

I check the kick stand position more carefully now which is a lot but I guess it could happen again.